Chicken or the egg ?

The main first aisle in Tesco (or any other supermarket I suppose), a riot of bunnies , chicks , gingham in various pastel colours.
Napkins , crackers , baskets , gift wrap , cards , banners & soft toys.

Apart from the bunnies and chicks you could be forgiven for thinking that it was Christmas , that time of excess when supermarkets pull out all the stops to tempt you to buy more 'stuff' that you don't need.

And then to the proper 'seasonal' aisle. Chocolate , chocolate & more chocolate.
Packaged in hundreds of different ways . Again the bunnies , wrapped in gold foil , eggs with mugs , eggs with little eggs inside , eggs in buckets .

Teddy bear shaped chocolate , ducks , monkeys , pigs , you name it , there is probably a chocolate animal to suit your needs.

Then the 'character' eggs . One Direction , Sponge Bob , Super Mario , Minnie Mouse , Hot Wheels , Spiderman , I could go on but it would take until next Easter.

I really can't remember this variety of eggs when I was younger. I think the most exciting it got was an egg in a mug or and egg cup , no Flumps egg as a child or Bros egg in my teenage years , but I can't say that I suffered as a result !!

Mum & Dad used to put all of our eggs out on the breakfast table. A large egg from them with some creme eggs and some mini eggs and then eggs from Aunties & Uncles as well as a fluffy chick or two dotted about the table.

Now another trend seems to be presents for kids instead of eggs. Since when did Easter become an excuse to get the latest PS2 game or dvd ? I'm not religious at all , but to me the egg symbolises hatching , new lives and spring .Not sure what a computer game symbolises apart from spoilt kids?

But this seems to be the way that all 'occasions' are going , taken over by shops using more different ways to get us to part with our money and if the chaos that was the chocolate aisle when I was there is anything to go by they seem to be succeeding !! xxx

 

 

Green is the colour?

"You are chatty with quite a few different men on your Twitter timeline. Do any men in your life get jealous of this ?"

The above question was asked of me on Ask.fm , and this was my answer :

"I chat with both men & women. I'm a friendly person . I haven't got a 'man in my life' and to be honest nobody has ever cared enough about me to get jealous anyway !!"

I answered truthfully as always ,but yet again a simple question got me thinking.

The presumption was that if a man got jealous then it would show that he had strong feelings , but to be honest I feel differently on that.

I have never been jealous of material possessions , if someone has something nice , then that's good for them . If it's something that I'd like then I will save up and get myself one ,  but being jealous of someone having something is just childish.

Also I've never been jealous of other peoples relationships. If a friend has a great boyfriend then I am genuinely happy for her. Chances are that we have completely different taste in men anyway and what kind of horrible cow  isn't happy for her friend?

As for the Ask.fm question , at first I thought that it would be nice if someone cared enough to feel jealous of attention that I might give others , but when you really think about it it's not all that good.

If someone is that jealous it shows to me that they have a desire to control and that's never a healthy thing in a relationship.If two people are secure in their relationship then there should be no need for any jealousy.Maybe jealousy shows that there is one in the pairing that loves more than the other , and again is that the basis for a good match?

So on reflection I am glad that nobody has ever 'cared' enough for me to be jealous. xxx

 

 

Read all about it.

I love books , I love reading. I always have done. As a small child I was read to nightly by my Mum or my Dad ,from a book called '365 Bedtime Stories'. I can still remember what story it was for my Birthday , actually it was a poem about 'Busy Mrs Rabbit'.
I still have that book , somewhere in the loft although haven't read it for years .

When I was old enough to read for myself a treat for being a good girl was a Ladybird 'Read It Yourself' hardback book. Every fairy story from Thumbelina to Cinderella was available and I soon progressed beyond my reading age group.

Then came Enid Blyton , 'The Magic Faraway Tree' series was my absolute favourite although re-reading it again recently I realise that childish imagination or hallucinatory drugs would now be useful for enjoying them.

I always read at night using the light through the crack in my door from the hallway to see by , until I was told off my Mum and then I had a small torch to continue my reading under the duvet surreptitiously!!
'The Secret Seven' and 'The Famous Five' were next , followed by 'Sweet Valley High' and 'Sweet Dreams' the teen American love books, where the male hero was always the most gorgeous boy in school who fell for the nerdy girl , the ultimate teen fantasy !!

It's not just me in my family who has a book addiction , every room in the house has book shelves except for the bathroom , although I am often to be found languishing in a deep , hot bubble bath with my latest paperback.
And I can never get rid of books. There are boxes and boxes of them in the loft, like old friends that I like to re-read on occasions.

I worked my way through all of the 'chick lit' authors , as they wrote about first finding 'Mr Right' , then marriage ,trying to get pregnant , having a baby , being a yummy Mummy and now having to find a career again.
I think that genre has been done to death now , although I guess they still have divorce , step-children and being a widow to go through !!

I now read a wide variety of authors , on a wide variety of subjects. My favourites being John Grisham , Marian Keyes , Patricia Cornwall , Dorothy Koomson and Ian Rankin. I like a book with a twist and something that makes me think.I tend to read a 'serious' book , followed by a slightly 'fluffier' one and I have to be in the right mood for the right book.

I have read a few books on the Kindle app on my phone , but to be honest I love a 'proper' book.There is nothing like the smell of a brand new book , the crisp new pages. My Christmas & Birthday lists are always full of books and can't resist the 2 for £7 offers in most supermarkets.

And now we get to the point , I'd love to write a book myself. I have no idea of a subject though. I haven't got the imagination for wizards , vampires or zombies and I am not knowledgeable enough on crime or pathology to write my preferred genre.

These days it is easier to self publish. I have some good friends on Twitter who have written books themselves and I'm sure I will be able to tap into their knowledge on how to do this so maybe one day you will be able to read more of my ramblings in a proper book!! xxx

Life ........

 

 

Thankyou to Andrew for this one , very true xxx

 

 

 

 

Comfort & Joy ?

"Here we see Homo Sapien in his natural habitat , reclining on his DFS sofa , can of Carlsberg in one hand , empty Dominos pizza box at his feet , eyes fixed to 42" flat screen television. His other hand resting inside his trousers and pants" can I stop the David Attenborough impression now ? , you've got the idea.

Does anyone recognise the above scene ? Oh yes , apparently this goes on in most houses a lot of the time starring males of all ages. (well apart from the lager for the under 18s obviously).

From an early age (as soon as they realise there is 'something' in there), the natural instinct for males to have their hand down their pants regularly , not moving , or 'doing anything' just to have it in there and that begs the question , why?

So me being me , I asked the question of men that I know , and some of their girlfriends , and was surprised that I actually got a response.

One reason that was given was that mens' 'bits' get uncomfortable. One man likened it to a woman wearing a bra , except men don't have the equivalent for a bra for their balls.

Can you imagine any man going into M&S to be measured , only to be told that they need the pants version of a 32AA ? , No me neither , it wouldn't happen would it and as we know male genitals don't always stay the same size throughout the day so an impossible idea.

Other men said that they never did it , while others sleep with their hands in their pants.
Most men said that it was a natural thing , a habit , a bit like a woman absently running her fingers through her hair , they didn't really realise that they were doing it.

One man said he checked to see if it had grown and another said that he checked to make sure it was still there !! Where exactly did he think it was going to disappear to? Has any man actually ever had their genitals fall off when they were going about their daily business?? No ? I didn't think so.

But the most often given 'excuse' was simply 'comfort' . It was a reassuring thing to do , maybe a bit like a comfort blanket , bless them .

But just one thing guys , if you sniff your hands when you take them out of your pants , then be prepared to get 'the look' from your woman ,you will deserve it , that's gross  !!
 

Do you come here often?

I always thought I was in the minority , I'm going to admit something :

My name is Petleg & I like cheesy chat up lines.

Right that feels so much better , I've finally got it out there and I was amazed to read earlier that I am not actually alone.

After deciding to blog about chat up lines I looked up some facts (yes I do research , don't be cheeky) and apparently two thirds of women admit that they like a cheesy chat up line!

58% of women think that it shows a man is confident and 59% think it shows an appealing sense of humour. Both things that women state they like in a man , so why don't men admit to using cheesy chat up lines?

I personally think that the thought of using a chat up line in front of a woman , when they don't know what reaction they are going to get puts guys off , and if the woman is with a bunch of friends, well we all know what large groups of ladies are like !!

Some of my favourites out of the top 20 are ,
  
Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?

Apart from being beautiful, what do you do for a living?

Do you mind if I stare at you up close instead of from across the room?

I seem to have lost my number, can I have yours instead?

Is it hot in here or is it just you?

There must be something wrong with my eyes, I can’t take them off you.

I hope you know CPR? Because you take my breath away

So nothing sleazy or overtly sexual , just friendly and cheeky , which would make me think that the guy using them was friendly and cheeky as well.

No one has ever used a cheesy chat up line to me , but please ladies , if a man has plucked up the courage to approach you and then delivers a knock out line , don't laugh at him , appreciate that it has taken a lot of bottle to use it , and if you really don't fancy him , let him down gently or he may never have the confidence to use it again.xxx

Who ? What? Where ? Why ?

The world of Twitter can be a very odd place.
Since being on there I have realised that not everyone is exactly who their avi picture may show.
 
I know there are a variety of different reasons for people not wanting the whole world to know who they are , some have sensitive jobs , some have sensitive families and some , well they just want to remain anonymous so they can have a bit of fun.

I have no problem with this , each to their own , in fact for my first few months on there I was a Meerkat. Strange though that I got less men following me when I was a small animal !!

But when I start to interact with people more on a day to day basis , I have an overwhelming urge to know more about them . I already put voices to the people when I read their tweets and if they have a cartoon character as an avi or a 'made up' name , that fuels my curiosity.Maybe I am just really , really nosey?

I have found (on the whole) that it tends to me more men who have pictures or names that aren't real, women tend to be more up front , a fact that I find interesting. A recent survey states that 20% of men have a secret email account hidden from their partners and 5% have even brought another mobile phone that their partner is unaware of , so are all men who hide their name & picture up to no good ?

If a 'made up' tweeter interacts with me , it's generally not long before my curiosity gets the better of me & I have to start asking questions. I occasionally dm , asking them who they really are , real name , why they hide and on the whole I feel that I have got really honest responses .(unless I am truly gullible!!)

People are usually willing to say who they are , where they are from , married or single , kids or not and why they want to remain anonymous & more often than not it is so they can interact with others without being judged on what they look like , maybe a confidence thing , maybe a chance to try & be that super hero , cartoon character or film star for a while. 

So no , I don't believe that everyone who has a 'made up' name or picture on Twitter is up to no good , and hoping to play away from home , but don't be surprised if you get a nosey dm from me asking you all these questions!! xxx

 

50 Shades of , ermmm , err , pink

I was asked today if my blog was like '50 Shades Of Grey' errr, no , not really , in fact not at all , but that got me thinking , could I actually write a blog post in that vein ?

Like many women in this country I heard all the gossip about the 50 Shades trilogy , some people all unnecessary (have you read the bit with the rules yet?!?!?!)  ,some people bored ( been there , done that , got the carpet burns ) and some just annoyed by the writing style of E L James.

So when my Mum (yes 65 year old Mum) ordered them from Amazon , I had to read them first , just to make sure that she wasn't going to get corrupted .

I read , and I read , past the 'rules' (not shocking at all) , past the sex . the toys , the positions , and was I shocked ? To be honest , no I wasn't .

This might sound lame but the aspect of the story that grabbed me more was the psychological aspect of Christian Greys past. Was he abused ? Was he the abuser? Would he turn Anastasia into his way of thinking , from 'vanilla' sex to who knows what !?!

By the middle of the 2nd book the sex scenes were getting boring , and I'm not the only person who thought that. In the end it turned into a normal love story kind of book so to be honest all of the hype really was just that.

Then a few months later , while in Tesco I noticed another book I had heard mentioned by friends 'Bared To You' by Sylvia Day . I read the back of the book , it sounded similar to 50 shades but maybe with a different twist and it was cheap so I thought why not?

Getting to the end of the book ,(same sex , different people) was when I realised it too was part of a trilogy and I would have to wait for parts 2 and 3 , grrrr.
I received book 2 for my Birthday , but now have forgotten the 'storyline' in book 1 so I will have to re-read after book 3 is out !!

But getting back to the initial question , Would I ever be able to write anything like that , be it in blog form or even an actual real book ?  

How difficult could it be ? Well lets see, 2 people ( okay you can have more if you want) , various states of undress , kissing , licking , sucking , blowing ,  touching , stroking , caressing , thrusting , pulling , tugging ,locations , positions , fetishes , toys , outfits , videos , cameras ,  shall I go on ?

Any book in this genre is going to be pretty much the same as any other . Sex has been happening since the beginning of time , literally , it is how we all got here and I doubt there is anything new to be found out or read about it.

The shelves of every bookshop and supermarket are heaving under the weight of copycat books , all with the grey cover , arty design and 'Mummy porn' tag, so I really don't feel I could add anything to what has already been published .

Apologies but this is the nearest you will ever get to reading '50 Shades Of Me' xxx

Take the strain .......

I don't often travel by train , it's not that I have anything particularly against train travel , just prefer a car .

Before October I can't honestly remember the last time I travelled by train , maybe a London theatre trip , you know the kind of thing , you get out of the theatre late at night and just want to be home , not travel across town and then sit on a train for an hour and then walk back from the station ....

I went on a train to London yesterday and then 2 different tubes to outer London. As it was out of 'rush hour' it wasn't a bad journey , seats available on all trains & a great deal of people watching to be done as I think you can only do properly in a big city.

People of all shapes , sizes and nationalities , some with wheely suitcases , some with dogs and some who looked like they would rather be anywhere else in the world.

And there is the point to this blog ( about time , you say).Everyone looked miserable , there were no smiles , no animation on their faces , nothing.

On the way home it was cold , very cold and it was 'rush hour' (although this seems to last at least 3 hours) and the faces of the people on the tube reflected their misery.

Some plugged into their ipods , ipads , kindles , phones some reading a paper or a book and some just staring glumly into space.

Then the mad rush as they get to Liverpool Street to get on that train , so that they can stand for most of the journey home.

I looked up that if you were buying a yearly season ticket from my local station that covered you in all zones for the underground as well as up to Liverpool Street you would be paying £4364 for that pleasure and no , that isn't 1st class travel , that would cost you the sum of £6760 !!

So over £4000 and you don't even get a seat and if you do you are squashed in between that guy reading the broadsheet and the other one who has fallen asleep and is likely to dribble on you before the end of the journey.

We broke our journey to get off at Stratford for a little bit of shopping , hoping that by the time we had finished the trains would be a bit emptier , hmmm , no such luck !

After just missing a train and having to sit in a little weather shelter on the platform for 20 minutes the train arrived and it  was just as busy as the earlier ones but full of people who seemed colder & more miserable than before if that was possible.

Standing in the doorway the one thing that struck me was the greyness.
Everyone in the carriage was wearing grey or black . Grey suits , black suits , coats , dresses , shoes , expressions.
I felt a bit like a peacock in my apple green coat & cerise handbag (  ooops sorry didn't get the dress code memo !!)

No eye contact between anyone , I wondered what would happen if anyone smiled at anyone else? Or actually started talking to the person next to them ? Okay I know , stupid idea , they would all tag you as the nutter in the carriage of course .

Such a shame that so many people spend so much time and so much money on travelling this way and it doesn't enhance their lives at all . I really hope that when they are old , they have enough in their lives outside of their work and their daily commute to be able to look back on and actually smile.xxx

Life Begins

As I type this there are 363 days until it happens (if I've got my maths right & there isn't a leap year), "What ?" you are asking (actually you probably aren't but I'm going to tell you anyway)

In 51 weeks and 5 days I turn 40 , the big 4 0 , life begins at etc!

So why the big deal?

It's a funny one for me to get my head round, it shouldn't feel an awful lot different from being 39 and yet there seems to be a big deal about it.Those who are already 40 and over have no problem with it , so it can't be all that bad , but I think that is my problem.

The people who have already been 40 are (whispers) grown ups !!
They are my Aunties , Uncles , Mum, Dad , certainly not me or my friends , we are still the kids , right?  

No ? What ? you mean to say I am an .......adult ? when did that happen ?

I can still remember the 40th Birthday of my Aunty , Paris themed as she was treated to a weekend there, and yet that was 20 years ago now !! My Dad had a surprise 45th (don't ask , not a success) , that was now 26 years ago !!

As the invites come in from friends for their 40th Birthday celebrations in the coming year I can't help but remember them as they were at school , spotty 14 year olds , definitely not grown ups with teenagers of their own, it's slightly scary.

Yet you never really notice the time going past , ask anyone and they will say that it only seems like 5 minutes since Christmas and yet here we are a quarter of the way through the year already.

I'm not worried about the physical aspect of getting older , I won't turn grey overnight (already been there , done that , got the hair dye)& I do get told (not bragging) that I look younger than I actually am and my parent aren't too wrinkly so there are good genes there !!

So in what will feel like a few moments I will turn 40! Will I have a party ? Not sure yet , never really been a party person but who knows , maybe I will do something different. I'm planning to finally learn how to drive (watch out roads of Essex) so that will be a new challenge !

One thing is for sure , I can't do anything to change the clocks and turn back time , and I know of plenty of people who are not around to celebrate their 40th Birthday so I've decided that growing old (a bit) disgracefully is the right way to go and hopefully soon I will be able to lay claim to being a fully fledged mad , old cat lady , well that's my ambition anyway !!  xxx